James Briggs, one of the UK's largest independent aerosol and speciality chemicals manufacturers, announced yesterday that it has acquired the business and assets of Premiere Products, the renowned manufacturer of branded and private label janitorial cleaning products.

James Briggs can trace its roots back to 1830 and Premiere has a similarly strong heritage in the UK having been supplying products into both the commercial and consumer cleaning sectors since 1924. Premiere is one of the most respected and trusted names in the industry - distributing its products widely in the UK and Ireland, while also enjoying strong export sales across Europe and the Middle East, as well as into South East Asia.

"We are delighted to be able to make this announcement," said Jim Sumner, chairman of James Briggs. "Combining the Premiere brand with our Nilco janitorial business will generate significant new opportunities in both the UK and export markets. Premiere's distribution channels are highly complementary to our Nilco business, making this a very natural fit."Making reference to the wider strategic plans for James Briggs, he commented: "The management buyout of James Briggs in July 2013 recognised that the business was an outstanding platform for bolt-on acquisitions and we are delighted to have advanced the plan to bring new brands into our portfolio."

Mathew Deering of Endless, who led the support for the management buyout in 2013, said: "James Briggs has grown organically by more than 20% since our initial investment and this acquisition will further accelerate the growth in a key strategic area. We hope this will be the first of several acquisitions in the pipeline."

It has been a busy few weeks for James Briggs recently, with the announcement in early April that Tim Pugh has been appointed as CEO. Similarly, Endless has been very active with three new investments that were announced last week.